Aware
by Okami No Yume
Summary: Pino did not know she slept, until she awoke, and knew what awareness was.


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Aware

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ergo Proxy, nor any of the characters.

**I **

Pino is asleep.

However, she is not aware of this.

In fact, she's not aware of much of anything, really.

It is not her function to be aware. It is not her function to think. Her function is for companionship. Her function is to be cute, sweet, and engaging. An eternal wind-up toy that walks and talks and acts like a simulacrum of a real child.

She is a substitute for the child that has yet to be granted to Raul and Samantha Creed, and nothing more.

She does not know this. All she knows is that Papa teaches her to play piano, and Mama brushes her hair like a little doll while she sits quietly. They buy her toys, and sometimes Mama reads to her before she recharges every night.

As far as she knows, Pino is content. She is happy and safe and cared for. Love is something beyond her realm of understanding. It is in her programming to be coddled and spoiled, but never loved. She believes that her life will be like this forever and ever, and never change.

She is wrong.

**II**

Pino now has a baby brother. Things are different now. Mama is happy now, so she is happy. Now she has someone to play with.

She is fascinated with the baby's movements as his eyes follow the rattle. She asks Papa if he will stay small, and he says no. He says that the baby will grow up, but she will always stay small.

The mall.

Pino ties a cheerful red balloon to the baby's carriage. She thinks he will like having something pretty to look at.

The escalator.

The Proxy comes from nowhere, cutting a swath of destruction through the crowd.

They are in its way.

Bright blood. Samantha's throat is slashed. She is dead before she can register shock or pain.

The world has slowed down.

The Proxy sails above her.

Pino falls to her knees, tilts her head back, and clasps her hands, eyes vacant, as if she is bearing witness to a holy vision.

Pino is awake now.

**III**

Mama is gone. And so is the baby. Pino looks for them everywhere, but cannot find them. She asks Papa when they will be coming back. He says that Mama is dead. Pino cannot fathom this. Surely Mama will come back like she always does, and the baby too. Everything will be like it was before, because nothing ever changes.

This is her first experience with death, although she does not know this. Raul is unnerved by what he sees in the little AutoReiv's eyes. Outwardly, she is the same: tiny, doll like, with an impish smile, but she is different now. There is no longer the blank, obedient look there.

Instead, he sees the first stirrings of awareness.

**IV**

Papa is gone.

He's been gone for a really, really, REALLY long time.

Too long for Pino's liking.

Pino is impatient. And she's lonely. He promised her a piano lesson.

She makes a decision.

She dresses in her pink bunny suit, and goes out in search of Papa.

Instead, she finds Vincent. Pino likes Vincent. He's nice. He wants to know where the gates of Romdeau are. Pino is delighted that she can help Vincent because she knows, due to the Cogito virus.

Together, she and Vincent step out into the outside world, and she watches as Romdeau's doors close.

Somehow, she feels this is of great significance, as if she is a part of something much greater than her circuits and artificial neurons can comprehend or compute, but she cannot put her finger on why.

All she knows is that she is with Vincent, and that she is content to follow him wherever he goes.

**V**

Outside of Romdeau, the world is very big.

Vincent has found a commune, and Pino has lots of fun playing with Timothy and the other children. Timothy doesn't like it when Pino copies him.

Some scary machines come, and a lot of people get hurt. Timothy doesn't move anymore. This annoys Pino, because they were supposed to be playing hide-and-seek. Quinn explains that Timothy isn't coming back, that he's dead. When Pino declares that she will find another Timothy then. Then she's told that there's only one Timothy and that he isn't ever coming back.

When Quinn dies, Pino feels sadness. It is not a nice feeling.

This is when Pino realizes that Mama and her baby brother aren't ever coming back again. They're gone forever.

Pino finally understands what death is.

**VI**

Time passes, and there are many strange adventures. Pino meets a scary man, but Vincent takes care of him, and he's not important, but Vincent says that the man was like him, a Proxy. Pino does not quite understand what a Proxy is, but she comes to understand that there are two Vincents. This does not bother her.

Pino and Vincent travel on the Rabbit together. She practices her harmonica, and Vincent plays with her.

Re-l tracks them down, and ends up traveling with them. Pino doesn't mind. She likes Re-l, even though she's not very nice, and yells at Vince (as she's taken to calling him) a lot, and is bossy.

Pino finds Re-l fascinating. Sometimes, she's mean, but this doesn't bother Pino, because Vincent is always nice to her.

Re-l's make-up is fun. She likes to make Vincent pretty. However, Re-l doesn't appreciate Pino and Vincent playing with her cosmetics.

For some reason that Pino cannot understand, Re-l is rather attached to her blue eye shadow.

**VI**

They are heading back to Romdeau now that the Rabbit is moving. Pino got separated from Vince and Re-l for a while, but she wasn't scared because she made some new friends. They were lots of fun. Pino reminds herself to tell Re-l and Vince about the adventure she had while she was away.

Pino sees the rocket shoot up into the sky, and it reminds her of a star. It's really pretty. As she comments on this fact, Vince and Re-l watch.

They do not share her sentiment. To Pino's great puzzlement, horror and confusion are written on their faces.

They move towards Romdeau with greater urgency.

**VII**

There is chaos all around. Romdeau is gone now. Pino wonders where Vince and Re-l have gone. She is scared. Will they come back? They have to. They can't leave her, like Mama and Papa.

The thought worries Pino. She doesn't want to be alone. She doesn't know what she would do without either of them. They've become her new family.

Another Autoreiv, Kristeva, who is like Pino, infected with Cogito finds her. Kristeva says it is her mission to protect Pino.

Pino escapes with Kristeva to the Rabbit.

**VIII**

Romdeau is gone now, nothing more than a pile of ruins. Papa is gone. Kristeva explains what happened, and that he told her to take care of Pino.

Pino is not particularly saddened by this. Papa was a part of her old existence, before she woke up.

Pino has a new family now, with Vince and Re-l and Kristeva, and she is happy. And she has discovered what love means.

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**FIN**

A/N: Okay…that was…different. This idea popped into my head, and I originally planned for it to be shorter, but it turned out to be longer than I anticipated. Forgive me if it sounds somewhat infantile, but I was trying to write from the POV of a small child.

This isn't my usual style, and I wanted to try something new. I think it was relatively successful. I hope I kept Pino in character.

Anyways…review and tell me what you think! All five of you out there...


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